GOP Plan to Avoid Another Shutdown: Delay the Fight over Trump’s Wall

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President Trump is “willing to be patient” in waiting for more funding for his border wall with Mexico, House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday, according to The Washington Times.

In a meeting with Trump on Wednesday, Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) pitched a plan to avoid a shutdown on October 1 by delaying a fight over funding for the border wall, Politico’s Burgess Everett reports.

The plan reportedly calls for pushing ahead with bills to fund most of the federal government for 2019 before the end of the current fiscal year on September 30. But the thornier issue of money for Trump’s wall would be deferred until after the November elections. Everett writes:

Trump made clear to the GOP leaders that he still wants a $5 billion down payment on his wall this year, but he signaled to the leaders that he might be willing to wage that fight after the midterms. Though the House plans to pass a spending bill giving Trump $5 billion for the wall, Senate Democrats are unlikely to agree to fund more than the $1.6 billion initially requested by the Trump administration — meaning any attempt to fund the Department of Homeland Security could lead to a shutdown.

The House has passed six of 12 annual spending bills, while the Senate is working to have nine of the 12 done by the end of next week. The plan presented by McConnell and Ryan may mean that some parts of the government, including the Department of Homeland Security, would need to be funded initially by stop-gap spending measures. And disagreements between the House and Senate could still throw a wrench into the appropriations process. Everett also notes that “smaller, department-specific shutdowns” could still happen under the GOP strategy.

As editor in chief, Yuval Rosenberg oversees all aspects of The Fiscal Times' website and email newsletter. His writing has appeared in publications including BusinessWeek, CNBC.com, CNNMoney.com, Fast Company, Fortune, Newsweek, Money and Time.